Faculty Highlight: Dr. Rick Chaffee

Dr. Rick Chaffee’s understanding of leadership and mentoring practices is informed by a diverse background in professional ski racing, a Master's degree in Economics from the University of Denver and a Ph.D. in Applied Social Sciences from Union Institute & University. Dr. Chaffee’s has experience teaching both at the high school and collegiate level. He also has worked extensively in leadership training for the Marathon Oil Company, as well as working as a manager for the Catholic Diocese of Toledo. More recently Dr. Chaffee has been recruiting and mentoring members of the National Guard and employees of various corporations to focus on their degree completion through Union Institute & University.

Your first career was as an Olympic skier. What started you on that path of professional skiing?

I was born in Rutland, VT and my mom and dad both ski raced. My mom was an alternate on the 1940 Olympic Team but that year the games were cancelled because of the war.

There was a ground swell of interest in skiing around Pico Peak near Rutland as a local woman, Andrea Mead Lawrence, became the first American to win Olympic gold medals in skiing in 1952.
This ground swell of interests gave rise to organized efforts to support ski racing in the region. I ski raced from the age of five or so. My sister, Suzy Chaffee participated with me in the '68 Olympics in France and I competed again in Japan in 1972. Our University of Denver ski team won the NCAA Championships during each of my four years there.

After you transitioned out of skiing professionally, you went on to teach and to help establish the Green Mountain Valley School. What was your vision for that school?

After teaching for six years with Johnson State College, I was asked to help a local academy, The Green Mt. Valley School, become an elite ski racing academy. I taught, coached and was director of community life with the school.

Our vision was to create a high school in which students could excel both academically and athletically. The goal was for faculty, staff and students to create a supportive learning community in which students could pursue their dreams. The school has since developed into one of America’s leading ski racing academies and college preparatory schools.

You teach in Union's Leadership program and are invested in both educational and corporate leadership training.  What are the aspects of leadership that you see as essential today both in the academic world and in the corporate world? What aspects of leadership do you feel are essential for your students to grasp?

Leadership is influence in service of a common purpose. The participants in our leadership classes become excited when they discover that many of the theories validate an intuition that they have had for some time. The courses I teach with Union Institute & University and those I taught in corporate training, focused on helping both leaders and followers organize what they already know so that it becomes more useful to them. Teaching is especially fun when that happens.

Most Union Institute & University students are adults with years of experience in organizations. My role then is to bring together a field of knowledge such as leadership and the lived experience of our participant. When that happens, the learning takes place very fast because the participants already know experientially these concepts and theories.What I find most satisfying about teaching leadership is helping our leadership students remember what is most important to them, which is keeping their integrity.

It seems that we are so challenged by the environments in which we work, so caught up in surviving, that we often lose touch with what is most important to us. Such things as:

• Doing our best and being of good will;
• Avoiding the tendency to create in-groups and out-groups in our organizations. Because our mind operates by categorizing, there is a natural tendency for leaders to classify their followers and thereby create in-groups and out-groups. Building high quality one-on-one relationships with each team member, despite the differences in intelligence, motivation, career aspirations, and skill level, will take us a long way toward developing a sound organizational climate.

Here is an example of what I enjoy most in teaching leadership. I ask students to respond to this handout as we approach the end of the leadership course. This piece resonates strongly with our leadership participants:

“You are nearly finished with the course. Whatever you have learned here, the insights from the instruments, from the theories, from your application of theory to the cases, and all the insights you have had from your whole life, these will not be lost. What is important now is this: When you find yourself in a situation, whether you are the leader, follower or a peer, do not try to remember these theories or past insights. Instead, be present to the situation, to the people, to the issues….listen. Be open to whatever is happening…to your own thoughts and feeling and the responses and feelings of the other parties. Then draw on your intelligence, your concern for the well being of people and your sense of beauty and fairness.If you do that, if you do your best to be present to this unique situation and these unique people at this unique moment, with deep concern for both people and the task at hand, what you need to know will be made available to you.It is impossible to determine what to do ahead of time, for every moment is new and fresh and calls for its own unique response.It is in the humility of being open and present, trusting that the right words and responses will come to us, that we find our ‘voice’ and truly serve.” 

Who are the leaders and examples that you look to or aspire to be like? Why?
 In my classes I use Dr. Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream” speech and Joshua Chamberlain’s speech to the mutineers of the 20th Maine at the Civil War battle of Gettysburg. I am also a great admirer of Nelson Mandela and the Persian poets Rumi and Hafiz.These are leaders who were fearless in their support of freedom, equality and community. I admire all who try, as best they can, to live the qualities of intelligence, beauty and love.Ultimately, however, leadership is a matter of the heart.

What are your current projects that you’re most excited about? 
Our B.S. Business Management and Leadership faculty have been working together to develop ‘sound guidelines’ for our collaboration forums, ways to strengthen the quality of our on-line courses in CampusWeb.Another project of special interest is an application of ‘Appreciative Inquiry’ to our peer review process. The Faculty Affaires and Development Committee, FAD, has been creating a peer review process that focuses on two things: developing faculty and celebrating the good things happening in the university as we share our interests and our successes with our peers.Appreciative Inquiry is a process for developing organizations by identifying and celebrating its strengths. Or, as Peter Drucker stated so well in one of our training videos for this process [...] “The task of leadership is to create an alignment of strengths that make our weaknesses irrelevant.”

What does “social responsibility” means to you, and how you live out that value in your life?
My interest in social responsibility at the moment is focused on the leader-follower relationship in organizations whether public, private or corporate. The leader-follower relationship has profound ethical implications. Organizations and their leadership have a social responsibility to see that the leader-follower relationship is ethical.There are many methods that leaders can employ to get things done. There is coercion, manipulation, mutually agreed upon transactions, and inspiration. Only two of these are ethical.

Freedom to follow without threat or coercion is part of social responsibility in our organizations. Our essential equality as persons, despite differences in roles, is another requirement of social responsibility in the leader-follower relationship. The leader-follower relationship has not been a focus of social responsibility until recently. It is, however, a major focus in our Ethics and Leadership class.

Within our own organization, Union Institute and University, it is important that we help each other keep our personal and institutional integrity. That’s how we live social responsibility in our own house.

Nominate Faculty for the Service Award

 

 

Deadline: June 30, 2014

Do you have a favorite Union Institute & University instructor who deserves recognition for exceptional hard work and dedication? Students, faculty (including self-nominations), administration, and alumni are welcome to nominate Union faculty members for the Faculty Award for Excellence in Service.

Nominations will be accepted through June 30, 2014. This award recognizes the exemplary achievements by Union faculty in the area of service, it carries a $1000 stipend, and all Union faculty—including full-time, part-time, and affiliate—are eligible.

This award recognizes extraordinary dedication to the university, including performance beyond contractual assignments, and service contributions made without compensation. Candidates should demonstrate a consistent pattern of service of significant importance to the University, to the public, and the community, including significant service in scholarly/professional organizations and enhancing the reputation, prestige, and mission of Union Institute & University.

The winner will be announced in September and will be publicly recognized at the October National Faculty Meeting and the 2014 National Commencement Exercises. 
 
Nominations should include the following information:
a) a letter of nomination explaining why the nominee is qualified to be recognized in this manner
b) the nominee’s most current curriculum vitae
c) any documentary evidence in support of the nomination which may include up to three letters in support of the nomination
d) information regarding any other financial award or grant that has been received in support of the faculty member’s work that forms the basis of this nomination
e) the identity of the persons making and supporting the nomination.

Nominations may be submitted electronically at FacultyHR.Committee@myunion.edu by June 30, 2014.

Except for self-nominations, the portfolio should not include any confidential information. For self-nominations, confidential information such as dean’s reviews or peer reviews may be submitted in support of the nomination but any confidentiality in that information will be deemed to have been waived.

In order for a nomination to receive full consideration, items a.) through d.) must be included in the nomination dossier.  Moreover, substantial items and/or amount of the activities of a candidate upon which the nomination is based must be performed during a candidate's employment at Union Institute & University. The quality and thoroughness of the nomination materials, including current Curriculum Vitae, are important factors in committee recommendations. The activities of excellence and quality performance should be demonstrated in a consistent and sustained pattern for a period of time and are continuing at the time a candidate is being considered for the Award by the Committee.  

Call for Faculty Research Papers and Presentations

 

To Engage, Enlighten and Empower: Celebrating 50 Years of Faculty Research at Union Institute & University

Deadline: June 16, 2014

The Faculty Council is pleased to announce a call for faculty research papers and/or research presentations. This mini-conference is a university-wide event designed to encourage collaboration, communication, and community-building across all academic programs. We hope to include many different voices representing a range of disciplines to promote and grow connections and discussions among all programs.

The projects will be presented on Monday, July 7, 2014, 7:30-9:00 pm EDT at the Holiday Inn in Erlanger, Kentucky and broadcast live via Adobe Connect or GoToMeeting. Specific details will be shared with all participants before to the event.

Research paper presentations
• Approximately 20 minutes long.
• Can range from a more traditional conference paper to a creative work to a description of a community project.
• Send an abstract to Dr. Rosanne Kennedy (Rosanne.Kennedy@myunion.edu) by June 16, 2014.

Shorter research presentations
• Approximately five minutes long.
• Can be varied – anything that you are currently engaged in, working on, thinking about, or have already accomplished.
• Examples: a description of a current project or research interest, an announcement of recently published work, a project in your community, or recent pedagogical strategies developed and implemented.
• Submit your name and a few lines of your topic/interest to Dr. Kennedy by June 16, 2014. 

Faculty Highlight: Dr. Michael Raffanti

Dr. Michael Raffanti takes the value of social responsibility seriously—and he lives out the definition of that value in his work, his teaching, his life in the surrounding community and in his outreach.

Dr. Michael A. Raffanti is the Associate Dean in Union Institute & University's Ph.D. program in Interdisciplinary Studies, and he is also a faculty member within the Ed.D. program. Dr. Raffanti has been with Union Institute & University since 2007, but the passion for combining education and social engagement is something that has characterized his life and work for decades.

“Union’s long-time focus on social responsibility is what attracted me to join the doctoral faculty. My professional life has, I think, reflected my desire to connect social responsibility with my day-to-day work," he said. Dr. Raffanti is interested in interdisciplinary approaches to the subject of education, legal issues, social justice, leadership, systems change, qualitative methods, and action-oriented research. Grounded Theory Review, Journal of Qualitative and Ethnographic Research, and Journal of Integral Theory and Practice have all been venues for Dr. Raffanti's research to be published.

His background in history and philosophy, law, and teaching has provided him with an integrated intellectual framework for his engagement of the surrounding community in very practical ways.

In his former career as an attorney in San Francisco, he specialized in issues of poverty law. "My first career as an attorney was primarily spent working in non-profit organizations that focused on serving low-income communities,” said Dr. Raffanti. “This work took the form of housing, immigration, and domestic violence matters; it was a combination of legal advocacy and educating the community of their rights."

He has also worked with outreach organizations supporting the AIDS community, and helping develop HIV prevention programs. In addition, teaching elementary school in high-poverty, urban environments and mentoring high school students through weekend tutoring and workshop programs have been signatures of Dr. Raffanti's commitment to being a socially responsible scholar practitioner.

"By the time I came to Union in 2007," Dr. Raffanti said, "my professional career was a bit eclectic, but it had a common thread of educating people of all ages in the hope that such education would improve lives as it had mine. At Union Institute & University, my sense of worth now comes from helping adult learners, mostly nontraditional doctoral students, achieve something that perhaps would otherwise seem out of reach—a doctorate. As a first-generation college graduate and someone who grew up poor, I understand some of the obstacles that people may face, not only the financial barriers and the academic challenges of higher learning, but also the self-doubts that can arise when perhaps one hasn’t been groomed for higher education. In my current work as an educator and administrator, I gain some satisfaction from knowing that I am helping to facilitate adult learners in their educational journeys. What really motivates me from the perspective of social responsibility is the knowledge that our doctoral students (who already come to us with strong values of social responsibility), will use their enhanced knowledge, skills and credentials, to better serve their communities.”

Graduation Spotlight: Lisha Lungelow

To celebrate Union Institute & University’s recent National Commencement in Cincinnati, we are highlighting a few of the new graduates. Each participant was asked to write a response, in their own words, to the question “How has your Union experience changed your life?” 

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Lisha Lungelow
Bachelor of Science in Social Work, 2013
Cincinnati, Ohio

My experience at Union Institute & University has transformed my life. Not only have I fulfilled my dream of obtaining my degree, but I have new confidence in my abilities.

The idea of returning to college as an adult in my early 50s filled me with fear. But at Union, a college that specializes in adult learning, I found peers with similar concerns. Through interactions with other adult students, I found that I was not alone.

My coursework was challenging and rigorous. I learned to think creatively and critically. I was empowered to do my best. My professors challenged me, and the end result is my bachelor’s degree.

The boost to my self-esteem is priceless. This journey has shown me what I am capable of as an adult returning to school. I now recognize that I can move forward in my journey to obtain my master’s degree—and a Ph.D. is not out of the question.  The confidence I feel going forward and seeking employment, I attribute to Union Institute and University.

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While earning her bachelor’s degree in social work, Lisha Lungelow balanced one full-time job, one part-time job, and raising two children. She is a member of the National Association of Social Workers and the National Association of Black Social Workers. Lisha is a lifelong resident of Cincinnati, Ohio.

Learn more about Union Institute & University's Social Work program.

Read more National Commencement graduate stories:
Annette Aron, Ed.D.
Kenzia Carpenter, Ph.D.
Linda S. Hon, Ed.D.

Bachelor of Arts Experience Day in New England

October 5, 2013

New England Academic Center

28 Vernon Street, Suite 210

Brattleboro, Vermont 05301-3669

Discover Union Institute & University's unique low-residency Bachelor of Arts program, meet current students, faculty, and staff and participate in discussions and study groups. Our Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in Liberal Studies offers concentrations in arts, writing & literature; education; global studies, history & culture; and psychology & human development.

Stay in the afternoon for lunch and classes.

9:00 - 9:30am - registration/coffee

9:30 - 10:30am - program overview

10:30am - 12:00pm - classroom participation

For details contact: brattleborocenter@myunion.edu or 888-828-8575 x8900

9/11 Reflections

In remembrance of September 11, 2001, some of Union Institute & University's California-area first responders share their thoughts about the day, and how their career fields have changed after 9/11.

Tim Martin is a police officer for Merced Community College District Police Department in California and he is also a current student in Union Institute and University’s criminal justice management program. Tim has been a law enforcement officer for more than 20 years and he is a veteran of the United States Coast Guard.

It has been twelve years since September 11, 2001, when terrorists coordinated attacks on the twin towers and the Pentagon. These are my thought and memories of the fateful day.

At that time, I was employed as a Deputy Marshal for the County of Merced in California. I went to work that day with a heavy heart after being awakened in the morning to the news of what had happened and what was occurring throughout our country. My thoughts were of my fellow law enforcement officers and firefighters who were dealing with the worst possible situation they had probably ever encountered in their careers. And, little did I know of the enormous loss of professional first responders who had already made the ultimate sacrifice.

The realization of those events as they unfolded became evident to me when I was loading equipment into my patrol vehicle. It was during that moment I heard an aircraft that I identified as an F-16 fighter jet streaking across the sky and heading west. What caught my attention was that I could see that the aircraft was armed with ordinance. I remember thinking to myself “I can’t believe this is happening.” I also wondered where the pilot and his aircraft were going and what dangers lay ahead for him.

The events of September 11 have strengthened public safety. Communities are better prepared with specialized training and equipment but even with this, there is still one important factor—the dedicated professionals who do their jobs every day in their communities. They are just like the professionals who rushed into the twin towers and the Pentagon. They knew the risks but did their jobs as true professionals, as well as true Americans. Many of them sacrificed their own lives so that others could live. Only a great country such as ours can produce such professionalism.

Today we reflect upon those professional first responders and the sacrifices they made on that tragic day; our thoughts and prayers go out to their love ones. They will always be remembered as heroes. God Bless them and god bless the United States of America.

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Sergeant Major Richard M. Burth earned his B.S. in emergency services management from Union Institute & University in 2013. He is currently the Operations Sergeants Major of the 185th Military Police Battalion as well as the Senior Enlisted Advisor for the joint task force Domestic Support-Counterdrug. He has deployed on numerous occasions in support of natural disasters throughout the U.S. as well as the first Gulf War, Operation Enduring Freedom (CONUS and OCONUS), and Operation Iraqi Freedom. As a civilian, he is employed as an anti-terrorism specialist.

The California National Guard (CNG) has been responding and protecting the citizens of California for over 160 years, but after 9/11 the CNG realized the need to refocus their efforts on emergency preparedness, response, and coordination with every level of government. The CNG began developing, improving, and enforcing standardized operational plans (SOP) and trained personnel to be proficient in military and civilian operational planning methods. SOP’s were built to incorporate standardized emergency management system (SEMS), national incident management system (NIMS), the national response framework (NRF,) and the joint military operations planning doctrine. When Major General David S. Baldwin was appointed as the California National Guard's Adjutant General, he directed that the top mission and responsibility would be to rapidly respond to state emergencies with a robust, coordinated force that would be drilled and prepared for the situations it faced. He also directed that, in addition to working with our local first-responders, the CNG would also focus on enhancing coordination with its active duty partners, bringing CNG commanders closer to their U.S. Northern Command counterparts.

I found myself fortunate enough to be in the right place at the right time due to multiple deployments after 9/11 fighting the Global War on Terrorism, the expiration of my P.O.S.T. certifications, and my service in the California National Guard. For my entire adult life I had focused on my education and serving in the law enforcement field, but due to some financial hardship after obtaining my dream job, I had to resign my position as a Del Norte County Deputy Sheriff and apply elsewhere when the events of 9/11 occurred. I was employed by the CNG’s Joint Counterdrug Task Force as well as a Platoon Sergeant in a military police company in the CNG. I deployed immediately after the events of that tragic day. I spent a year at Ft. Lewis, Washington as well as a year in Iraq. During that period, my California P.O.S.T certificate expired. I was also approached by the CNG and offered the opportunity to assist with the establishment of a Federal Anti-Terrorism Assessment team, later known as Full Spectrum Integrated Vulnerability Assessment team (F.S.I.V.A.) as well as the Critical Infrastructure Protection-Mission Assurance Assessment team (CIP-MAA). I conducted anti-terrorism assessments using the two different methodologies for approximately four years with a team of seven people.

During that period with the F.S.I.V.A. team I also assisted with the initial development of the current CNG-Disaster Response Plan. I was promoted and assigned as the First Sergeant of a military police company that was the initial Quick Response Force (QRF) for the State of California. I was deployed again to Afghanistan for another year. However, because of my training and experience with the two different Department of Defense methodologies I earned a position with the California Emergency Management Agency (CAL-EMA) within the Critical Infrastructure Protection Division upon my return. I was also assigned to the CNG-Joint Force Headquarters, Joint Operation Center (JOC) as the Operations Sergeants Major. I gained more experience and training within the State JOC managing large-scale responses for state emergencies and was able to obtain my degree in emergency services management from Union Institute & University.

I feel very fortunate to have had the opportunity to be involved at the ground level in developing the capabilities to identify the threats, vulnerabilities, and hazards to the state as well as the emergency response plans to address them. I am currently on a military leave-of-absence from my CIP position with CAL-EMA and working for the joint task force Domestic Support-Counterdrug, a program that provides assets and resources to secure California’s portion of the southwest border. Domestic Support-Counterdrug also fights the war on drug production and transportation within the State of California.

 

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Brett Schneider has nearly 18 years of experience working as an emergency medical technician and he has served as a full-time police officer in Northern California for the last seven years. Brett recently earned his bachelor’s degree in emergency services management at Union Institute and University's Sacramento campus. He plans to continue his studies, applying for Union’s new Master of Science in Organizational Leadership program that begins in January.

I can vividly remember where I was and what I was doing on the morning of September 11, 2001. I had just started my shift as an EMT and had arrived at my station in Colfax, California. My partner and I turned on the news and observed the events that have since changed the way emergency services personnel live and work. Between calls, we watched and waited to see the extent of the damage and the impact on our lives. In the years following those events, I went back to school, changed professions and I am now a police officer. I can’t say I made this change as a result of 9/11, but those events strengthened my desire to work in law enforcement.

The events of 9/11 brought new roles and responsibilities to all emergency responders nationwide. The threats are different for each agency based on their area of operation as well as the potential threats in and around those locations. Working in a semi-rural community, the idea of vehicles carrying large amounts of farming chemicals was not something I would have noticed before 9/11. Now it not only raises my suspicion, but I along with many other officers carry a weapon of mass destruction (WMD) response kit as part of our daily equipment.

Overall, my work hasn't changed nearly as much as many other officer's jobs have. Each of us has accepted a new normal—from the way we board aircraft or ships, to the level of security at major sporting events—each person’s life has changed as a result of 9/11, not just emergency responders. 

Time-Saving Secrets from Union Students

Union Institute & University students are extremely busy adults who must manage time carefully and balance their many responsibilities. Juggling work, school, family, volunteer, and social life activities can be a challenge. They seem to operate on a day with more than 24 hours! To find out how they manage it all, we asked four outstanding Union Institute & University students to share their top-ten secrets for succeeding as adult students.

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Nikki Dominique | Cincinnati, Ohio Academic Program:  Master of Arts with a concentration in  Leadership, Public Policy and Social Issues

1. Use your lunch hour for studying. Find a quiet place at work or go sit in your car and get some reading done. If you do this all week, you gain five extra hours of studying or five hours of free time in the evening or weekends to do something fun/relaxing with friends and family. 
2. Take one day off per week. Set aside one day, whether a week day or a weekend and don’t do any school work. It’s important to take time away from the stress of school work so you don’t burn out. 
3. Start out ahead and stay ahead. Use Sunday to prepare for the upcoming week, not as catch up for the previous week. Start your reading on Sunday so you can post early in the week. That way, if life gets hectic you have some wiggle room to get things done. This also helps your fellow students who need to respond to your online posts. 
4. If you have school-aged children, create family homework time. Complete your homework while your children complete theirs. If your children are not in school yet, have them color or complete an activity book. 
5. Communicate openly and frequently with your professors. If you are struggling with the content or the deadlines, talk to your instructors. Union has great professors, they will have ideas to help and will review content with you. 
6. Be honest with family and friends. Let them know you are starting school and how excited you are. Prepare them for the fact that you will have less time and may need to cut back on commitments and/or social outings. If they care about you, they will understand and support you on your new adventure. 
7. Stay organized. Keep a calendar, either electronic or an old-fashioned paper planner. Write in all of your school assignments, family commitments, and work assignments. Take a look at your planner every morning and evening to prioritize and keep on track with all of your tasks. 
8. Reward yourself. Just finished a big paper or hard reading assignment? Go out for ice cream or have your favorite candy bar. Going back to school is a challenge so recognize your accomplishments, even if they are small. It will keep you in a positive state of mind. 
9. Write down the top five reasons you are going back to school. Post that list somewhere that you will see it on a regular basis. When you are feeling overwhelmed and/or frustrated, look at those reasons to remind yourself why getting a degree is important to you. 
10. Make friends with your fellow students, even if you only ever speak online. These are the people who are going through the same things that you are. They understand your struggles and your triumphs. Your fellow students are a good support system and sounding board.

Nikki Dominique earned her undergraduate degree from Ohio University in 2002. She served in both the insurance and construction industries before joining Union Institute & University’s admissions department in October 2012. In addition to working, she is pursuing her M.A. with a concentration in Leadership, Public Policy, and Social Issues. She was drawn to the university’s online master’s degree program for its freedom in program design and flexibility to fit into her busy schedule.

Joe Behler | Cincinnati, Ohio Academic Program:  Doctor of Psychology (Psy.D.)

1. Make sure your significant partner/friends/family understands the commitment you are making to doctoral study. 
2. Track the number of hours you spend each week on any Psy.D. doctoral work. This includes reading, ProSem, etc. I was surprised to learn I spent 29 hours a week in my first semester. 
3. After recording your average number of hours, then become more efficient. For example, I used voice dictation software to write papers and reduced the hours per week to 23-25. 
4. I worked full time my first year, against the advice of faculty, and this was a mistake. I reduced my work from 40 hours to 32 hours for my second, third, and fourth years and this helped. 
5. Read articles and books whenever possible. I often read at work when a client would not show or cancel an appointment. I gained some study time in this manner. 
6. Self-care is critical. Exercise, eating, and sleeping well are very important. I had to be careful about staying up too late doing school work, missing sleep and then feeling run down. 
7. I had to cut back some friendships and I focused on my partner, children, close friends, and family. There is a loss here but I would catch up on breaks, during the summer, and after four years. 
8. Organization is critical. I used my calendar to write down every assignment due date. If you follow the faculty program of expected classes and do not stray from it you will finish. 
9. I had the luxury of living in close proximity to the ProSem site. If you live farther away and must travel, get advice from student travelers on how to manage this time issue. 
10. I have fond memories of the extended weeks in Brattleboro and Cincinnati. After class we had fun together. Bond with your classmates and get to know the wonderful faculty.

Joe Behler selected the distance learning doctoral psychology program (Psy.D.) at Union Institute & University because the program allowed him to maintain a job in psychology while completing his doctoral coursework. Face-to-face training was on weekends mostly, once a month and two extended weeks each year, which gave Joe time for family commitments and studying.

Emily Dunham | Lincoln, Vermont Academic Program: Master of Arts with a Concentration in  Counseling Psychology

1. Do your homework!! Not just the readings/papers/tests, but also research specific state and national requirements for your chosen major. Develop a plan for after graduation and determine exactly what it's going to take to get there.
2. Be your own advocate. Part of graduate school involves increased personal responsibility to determine what you want in school, work, and life overall. Go for it! Find out who is going to be able to help you reach your goals and utilize them.
3. Don't procrastinate. This is big. I am notorious for saving everything until the last minute, and I can always count on a few miserable weekends towards the end of each term. Believe me, things are MUCH easier if you start early.
4. Use the writing center and your peers. This is easier said than done, but as this program is so independent, it can be easy to get off track and discouraged when you have no one to bounce your ideas off of. The writing center is always available to help!
5. Research Capstone early. A very useful part of the Capstone project is being able to incorporate earlier pieces of your own papers throughout the course of your educational career. After all, you can't plagiarize yourself! This is super helpful, but in order to really take advantage of this, you need to start thinking about your Capstone early and writing papers that can be tied to it later on.
6. Get to know your peers. I was not great with this over the course of my time at Union. The residencies are extremely useful to build relationships with other students, but only if you choose to engage. The residencies give us an opportunity to share our experiences with others who are balancing the same things and can be a very useful tool to enhance self-care.
7. On that note, pay attention to self-care. It's easy to lose ourselves in balancing the job, internship, school work, kids etc. It's very important to take time for ourselves in order to be fully present for our other responsibilities. I have found that self-care is the easiest thing to neglect in grad school and perhaps the most important thing to nurture.
8. Start looking for internship sites early. It's important to start this process very early. Think about what you are interested in. Submit several applications. Place follow-up calls. Identify a contact person to reconnect with to express your interest. It took me months to nail down a site and straighten out all of the details. Do yourself a favor and don't save this until last minute!
9. Research financial resources. Contact the financial aid office to ask about scholarships. As my time here at Union is drawing to a close, I am not faced with repaying my loans. Make sure to consider how these will impact you in the future. There are plenty of resources out there; you just need to take the time to seek them out.
10. Overall, my best piece of advice is to start early with everything and to speak up when you have questions. Union has plenty of very supportive and knowledgeable staff, and because of the online format, there is an increased personal responsibility to reach out for assistance when you need it. I have never had anyone ignore my questions or point me in the wrong direction.

Emily Dunham lives with her fiance and three dogs in Addison County, Vermont, where the couple recently purchased their first home. She works full-time at an animal hospital and also works 20 hours per week at an intensive outpatient treatment facility as part of her internship requirements for graduation. She really enjoys working with individuals trying to obtain recovery and she hopes to secure employment in this field upon graduation from Union Institute & University.

Nashid Shakir | Cincinnati, Ohio Academic Program: Master of Arts with a concentration in Leadership, Public Policy and Social Issues

1. Online learners must take control in planning their learning pace (Chizmar & Walbert, 1999), and also be realistic about their capabilities as they learn better about themselves, they must be willing to do better. 
2. They must monitor their own learning comprehension. (Shapley, 2000). 
3. They must make judgments on various aspects in their learning process (Petrides, 2002) and their personal learning style. 
4. Learners need to become aware of and actively explore various learning resources in an online learning context (Sener & Stover, 2000) with an understanding that their every subject and everything they learn on the front end of their academic journey is to prepare them for the rigid requirements that will be demanded of them at the end of their journey and that the whole is a combination of its parts. 
5. Learners need to develop strategies to effectively use resources and overcome challenges that are uniquely associated with online learning (e.g., written communication) (Hill, 2002). 
6. Online learners need to become motivated to overcome the procrastination challenge associated with online learning (see Elvers, Polzella, & Graetz, 2003), and to take advantage of online communication affordances to create meaningful interaction (King, 2002). 
7. Online learning provides flexibility for learners to pace their own study (Chizmar & Walbert, 1999). The anytime, anywhere feature of asynchronous online learning provides learners with the ability to plan their activities at the time and the place that are most convenient for them (Palloff & Pratt, 1999). This can often feed procrastination because the learners most always allow themselves more time than they actually they have. Be very careful, procrastination may be your biggest culprit! 
8. Learners still have the flexibility to choose the most convenient place from which to create their own learning space (Song et al., 2004), and decide on their own learning pace and sequence (Chizmar & Walbert, 1999). Be careful and do not over estimate your abilities or capacity. 
9. In an online learning environment, the monitoring responsibilities are in large part left to the learner. They must decide whether they understand the subject correctly [or not] (Shapley, 2000) or are heading in the right direction with their course work. Even though your professor may be only an email away, he or she may also not be! 
10. The level of responsibility for seeking assistance is also on you as the learner. It’s your time, your money, and ultimately your responsibility if you succeed or not!

Nashid Shakir has worked in social services and community capacity building for the past 25 years. Union Institute & University became a path to increase his effectiveness as a social entrepreneur. In his direct social environment there are a plethora of doctoral-level graduates and candidates from Union working to bring about productive change. These alumni and their achievements inspired Nashid to join Union's master of arts program.

Returning To College as an Adult

Ben Mitchell, M.F.A.

Affiliated Professor of Writing and Literature

Union Institute & University

 

Although there are clearly many challenges when returning to college as an adult, there are real benefits on two distinct levels: one financial and the other more human. Going back to school requires a serious commitment of time, resources and money. For most people it also requires taking on debt. For adult students with children and a full-time job, a full load of traditional classes can be nearly impossible to balance. This is why Union’s Bachelor of Arts program succeeds. Through independent study adult students can juggle all of their responsibilities.

Let me start by sharing my experience of returning to college. Having struggled in college in the 1980s, I later returned, enrolled in Union’s Bachelor of Arts program (Norwich University at the time) and graduated in 1995. I remember the time before returning to school—the feelings of failure, hopelessness, and trying to survive in a bad economy. I felt like a loser. I was a loser.

Most of us can place ourselves somewhere on the continuum between winners and losers. Is this the core motivation of our culture, to move from the losers’ end of the continuum, to the winner’s circle? Are we becoming a winner take-all-society?

During the recent Occupy Wall Street movement, the notion of the 99 percent versus the one percent became popular. Richard D. Wolff, professor of economics emeritus at the University of Massachusetts highlights data that suggests that one percent of the population in this country controls 43 percent of the wealth. That is striking. Even more compelling is that 93 percent of the accumulated wealth of our country is controlled by 20 percent of the people. In other words, two people out of 10 control almost all the benefits of our collective economy.

This helps to emphasize the economic value of graduating from college. A college degree significantly increases your odds of becoming part of that 20 percent. Furthermore, a college degree will statistically double your income over the course of a lifetime. A 2010 U.S. Census Bureau report suggests that over an adult's working life, high school graduates can expect to earn, on average, $1.2 million; those with a bachelor's degree, $2.1 million; and $2.5 million with a master's degree. Earning a degree will statistically increase your chances of earning a decent living. It will move you along the continuum toward that winner’s circle

My bachelor’s degree from Union Institute & University made it possible to gain a position that, for the first time in my adult life, provided health insurance. This degree made it possible for me to get paid vacations and paid holidays. When you get paid to go on vacation, you are a winner, right?

But, I also have a mind.

Now by mind, I don't just mean some hunk of gray tissue animated by electrical activity. To me a “mind” is something much more; something George Hegel might call “Geist.” The Christians call it Soul.  Hindus call it Autman -- spirit incarnated into flesh. There is something in a living cell that is not in a dead cell, not just electricity but life. Life itself is the great mystery.

It is this mind that truly concerns us. Here at Union Institute & University’s bachelor program we take a somewhat radical approach. We ask: "Who are you? What do you think? What is your understanding, your spirit?” We want you to think critically, to challenge assumptions, to question deeply the very structure of what we know. We are not concerned with making students regurgitate memorized information and fill in bubbles. In the bachelor’s program, as you learn more and assimilate material, you will come to trust and value your own insight, your own perception, and your unique flashes of genius. These are the pearls, the real treasures of our species.

Real knowledge is constructed when new ideas and information are sifted through real life experience. New ideas challenge our ideas, our cherished assumptions and beliefs and then we create a new understanding; we actually create a new model of the world within the mind. In order to do this we must start with what we already know. No one comes to Union Institute & University as an empty brain to be filled. Each student brings a great wealth of understanding and knowledge earned over years of struggle, failure, and success. We will challenge your ideas, inspire you, push you, and you will create a new understanding that is truly yours. Rather than just learning random material to pass a test, our students engage with the questions at the core of their life, creating meaning from the truth of what we know.

The independent study model makes it possible to be a student and parent, while working full time and doing all the things adults have to do. The self-designed curriculum allows you to choose subjects to which you connect personally. Not only does this make it much more meaningful, and easier to make the time for school in a busy life; it also means our students explore the material on a much more essential level, often working at a level usually associated with graduate school. In fact, many of our students go on to excel in graduate school because they are already accustomed to working at that degree of inquiry.

With all this in mind, I respect the challenges that adult students face as they wrestle with the decision to return to school in this uncertain economy. But it is also from this perspective that I can say that the bachelor’s degree program at Union Institute & University is a truly remarkable option. Is there a guarantee that graduating from Union Institute University will make you one of the winners? No. Does it statistically increase the odds? Absolutely. Our graduates have the power to think critically about the world, to challenge the assumptions of our culture and to construct a new understanding. These are tools that enrich your life and provide you with benefits impossible to calculate numerically. This we promise to all of our graduates.

Learn more about the bachelor degree programs at Union Institute & University.

Ben Mitchell, M.F.A. is an affiliated professor of writing and literature at Union Institute & University. He is the co-founder of Student Mentoring Services, a groundbreaking educational consulting firm that helps learning-disabled students transition to a university experience. Previously, Mitchell worked for 13 years at Landmark College in Putney, Vermont and authored and edited a series of Landmark Press books about learning disabilities. Mitchell holds degrees in both education and writing from Goddard College.

Dr. Nelson Soto named Provost & VP Academic Affairs

Nelson Soto, Ph.D.

CINCINNATI, OH – Union Institute & University President Roger H. Sublett announced the appointment of Nelson Soto, Ph.D. as provost and vice president for academic affairs. Dr. Soto will provide leadership to assure the quality of the university’s academic programs, advancing the university’s mission of engaging, enlightening and empowering students, and continuing development of enrollment. Dr. Soto replaces Dr. Richard S. Hansen who retired in January 2013 after serving for eight years.

Dr. Soto comes to Union Institute & University from Harrison College, Indianapolis, where he served as associate provost and vice president for curriculum and instruction since 2010. Prior to Harrison College, he served as an assistant dean in the graduate office at Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) from 2008 to 2010 and as an instructional development specialist at IUPUI’s Center for Teaching and Learning from 2005 to 2008. Dr. Soto has served as faculty at Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis in the School of Education; at Indiana University, College of Arts and Sciences; University of Missouri-Columbia, College of Education; and the University of Cincinnati, University College.

In announcing the appointment, Dr. Sublett said, “Dr. Soto comes to Union at an important moment in the university’s history. As we prepare to celebrate 50 years in 2014, he brings a renewed sense of the visionary and entrepreneurial perspective held by our founders when they sought to create a new university in 1964.” Dr. Sublett continued, “Nelson will help us all to solidify our unique university’s distinctions, and to provide rigorous academic programs, complete with the appropriate technology and skill sets that fit the lifestyles of today’s adults –students from across a wide spectrum of cultures and identities who balance education, career, and community responsibilities in a changing environment.”

Dr. Sublett also noted that Dr. Soto will play a pivotal role in the life of the university, its administration, and its students. This position addresses the needs of a diverse adult student population across all levels of baccalaureate, master’s and doctoral programs. With oversight for all aspects of academic programs, policies, strategies and initiatives, as well as the accreditation process and continuing assessment for the university, Dr. Soto will work collaboratively with constituents across the spectrum to ensure the advancement and strength of the entire institution.

Dr. Soto holds a Ph.D. in educational policy studies from Indiana University, Bloomington, and bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Cincinnati. His dissertation research focused on teachers’ perceptions and beliefs of Latino middle school immigrants, particularly rural communities that witnessed an increase in Latino immigrants within the past decade.

He has focused on access and retention, faculty and organizational development, administration of programs for marginalized student populations, creating and fostering internal and external relationships, and assessment. As the campus director for the National Science Foundation, Alliance for Graduate Education and the Professoriate at IUPUI, he managed the federal grant, while developing and fostering relationships with Hispanic-Serving Institutions and Historically Black Colleges and Universities. He also was responsible for promoting teaching excellence among faculty through consultations, course design, and facilitation of workshops on best practices in teaching and student learning.

A founder of the Multicultural Teaching and Learning Institute at IUPUI, he created a forum for faculty members to promote multicultural content in teaching and curriculum, including multicultural course transformation and serving students with disabilities. He was also charged with enhancing minority attainment diversity, and served on the Diversity Assessment Team, promoting multicultural course transformation within the School of Education curriculum.

Dr. Soto has served on several boards, including Harvard Business Publishing Advisory Board, Cengage Private Sector Advisory Board, Pearson Service Learning Board, and was chair of the Harrison College Military Advisory Board. He has received numerous grants for his research and efforts, including from the Office for Professional Development, Research Grant ($20,000), the Alliance for Graduate Education and Professoriate Dissertation Grant, a Professional and Organizational Development Network Grant, and the Maris M. Proffitt and Mary Higgins Proffitt Fellowship at Indiana University.

Dr. Soto has also served as a program coordinator of the McNair Scholars Program at the University of Missouri-Columbia; and a graduate coordinator of ethnic programs and services and judicial affairs at the University of Cincinnati.

Upcoming Library Workshops

Learn how Union’s online resources can work for you!

Union Institute & University’s library is completely online and provides access to a growing collection including:

• 50,000 + electronic full-text periodicals via 150+ online licensed research databases
• 150,000 + e-books
• 1,000,000 + doctoral dissertations from colleges and universities worldwide
• 5,000 dissertations produced by UI&U students

Learn how to navigate and use this extensive online collection at our April and May Library Workshops. These informative sessions are open to the Union community including faculty, students and staff. To sign up, visit Upcoming Workshops in the online Library Help Center. Attendees will receive a confirmation email with the meeting details after registering.

Library Orientation

• Thursday, April 4 | 7:00-8:00pm EST/4:00-5:00pm PST
• Thursday, May 16 | 6:00-6:50pm EST/3:00-3:50pm PST

This online workshop provides a basic introduction to the multiple resources and services provided by the UI&U Library, followed by a tour of the library website. This session is highly recommended for new users, those unfamiliar with online databases, and those looking for a quick library refresher.

Basic Research Skills

• Thursday, April 4 | 5:00-5:50pm EST/2-2:50 PST
• Thursday, May 2 | 7:00-8:00pm EST/4:00-5:00pm PST

The UI&U Library contains millions of resources—including 130,000+ e-books—that are available for free to the UI&U community. While the seemingly endless supply of information may seem overwhelming, this online workshop will demonstrate how to easily navigate our catalog and various databases so that you can locate exactly what you need for your assignments. Dissertation, article, and e-book searches will be touched upon. Recommended for anyone looking to increase their research skills and/or familiarize themselves with the UI&U Library website.

Advanced Research Skills

• Thursday, April 4 | 6-6:50:00pm EST/3:00-3:50pm PST
• Thursday, May 16 | 7:00-8:00pm EST/4:00-5:00pm PST 

This online workshop for experienced researchers will explore simultaneous database searches, reverse-citation searches, database alerts, search design, and other research strategies. This session is recommended for those who have completed “Basic Research Skills,” or those with previous online research experience.

Faculty Collection Development

• Thursday, May 2 | 6-6:50:00pm EST/3:00-3:50pm PST 

The UI&U Library believes that faculty participation is an essential component of library collection development. We invite you to help us by recommending specific e-books for purchase. This online workshop will demonstrate the various collection development resources available, including Choice Reviews Online, Ulrich's Periodical Directory, and the ebrary Title Preview website. Presentation content will focus on faculty needs, but staff and students are also welcome to register.

APA, Chicago & MLA Citations Made Simple

• Thursday, May 30 | 7:00-8:00pm EST/4:00-5:00pm PST 

The UI&U Library provides resources to help you to create, format, and manage bibliographies, citations, footnotes, and endnotes. This online workshop for new and experienced researchers will demonstrate the three citation formatting tools available in the UI&U Library: WorldCat, RefWorks, and Zotero. We'll also visit the APA, MLA, and Chicago style pages.

The Consequences of Plagiarism

Provided by the University of Texas, Perry Castaneda Library

Whether intentional or unintentional, plagiarism can lead to serious consequences. Let's look at some real-life examples of people who had their professional or academic lives seriously affected by accusations of plagiarism.

In 2006, first-time author and Harvard sophomore Kaavya Viswanathan acknowledged that she plagiarized portions of her novel How Opal Mehta Got Kissed, Got Wild and Got a Life from several other sources, including the works of authors Sophie Kinsella and Megan McCafferty. The book was pulled from shelves and the author lost both a two-book deal with Little, Brown and Company worth half a million dollars and a movie deal with DreamWorks. Viswanathan acknowledged that she had read the books that she was accused of plagiarizing, but claimed that the cases of plagiarism found in her book were unintentional and accidental.

In 2005, Thomas Matrka, a mechanical engineer who had earned his master's degree from Ohio University uncovered 55 master's theses from the school's Russ College of Engineering and Technology that appeared to include plagiarized work. Many of the theses contained almost identical paragraphs and drawings. The university responded by revisiting more than 200 engineering papers written since 1980 in search of duplication and plagiarism. After review by multiple university committees, the decision was made to revoke the master's degree of one of the accused in 2007. The university also recommended that 12 other theses be rewritten. In response to the scandal, the engineering school now uses software to check submitted theses and dissertation for duplication of content.

In 2004, playwright Bryony Lavery was accused of plagiarizing psychiatrist Dorothy Lewis' book Guilty by Reason of Insanity and Malcolm Gladwell's 1997 New Yorker profile of Lewis. Lavery's play, Frozen, is the story of a psychiatrist who works with serial killers. Dorothy Lewis' book chronicles her own work with serial killers. Malcolm Gladwell himself recounted the story in a 2004 New Yorker article where he details his confrontation with the playwright, who said she didn't think she needed to credit his story because it was "in the news." The play includes 12 verbatim passages from Malcolm Gladwell's article. While the play uses Dorothy Lewis' life as the basis for its character, it also adds embellishments, like an affair with a collaborator modeled on Lewis' real-life collaborator. These embellishments caused many to claim that the plagiarism was also a form of defamation.

Each of these stories can help us to understand why you should care about the effects and consequences of plagiarism.

Your individual professional and academic integrity are at stake. While there are certain to be immediate consequences tied to accusations of plagiarism, such as failing a course, you are also devaluing your original work and bringing into question the legitimacy of your other accomplishments.

The academic integrity of your school and the value of your degree are also at stake. Widespread accusations of plagiarism at a university hurt the reputation of that school and its graduates and can affect the value of your degree from that institution in the marketplace when you are looking for a job after graduation.

Your future professional and personal integrity can also be harmed. As the Ohio University story shows us, plagiarized work you submit now can come back to haunt you. Additionally, once you've graduated and entered the workforce, there can be legal and long-lasting professional consequences for representing the work of others as your own in a situation where you're being financially compensated for that work.

For information on Union Institute & University Writing Center.

The Consequences of Plagiarism article is property of the University of Texas, Perry Castaneda Library and is used by UI&U with written permission.

Union Alumni in the News

Congratulations to Union Institute & University’s alumni in the news. Do you have a story to share? Tell us about your recent accomplishments here: http://bit.ly/UXgOBD.  

Dr. J. Owen Allen III (Ph.D. 1991) recently published Preactive Leadership, a guide to becoming a results-oriented, conflict-free leader. The book’s content was drawn from Dr. Allen’s extensive consulting experience with clients including General Electric, General Motors, Hilton Hotels, John Deere, Kraft Foods/Sealtest, and Westinghouse Electric. Dr. Allen currently serves as executive vice president and dean of the school of management, and professor of management at Laurel University in High Point, North Carolina.

Dr. James L. Besier (Ph.D. 2004) co-authored “A Solution to an Unmet Need: Pharmacy Specialists in Medication-Use Systems and Technology,” which was published in the American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy and designated as a white paper. Dr. Besier serves as the director of pharmacy at Owensboro, Kentucky Medical Health System and currently holds faculty appointments at the College of Pharmacy and the College of Nursing at the University of Cincinnati and the College of Pharmacy at the University of Kentucky.

In October, Dr. Don Brady (Ph.D. 2004) appeared on Dr. Robert Weil's Chicago-based radio show The Sports Doctor. Dr. Brady works in a variety of specialties including clinical psychology, school psychology, marriage and family therapy, and substance abuse counseling. Listen to Dr. Brady’s interview about sport-related concussions here: http://bit.ly/UOG3Z3.

Amy Christey (B.S. 2011, Criminal Justice Management) has been named the first female police chief of Morro Bay, CA, earning the top post over 65 other applicants. Chief Christy previously served as sheriff's lieutenant for Santa Cruz County and has completed her first year of law school at the Monterrey College of Law. Read about Amy’s new position here: http://bit.ly/SlPPD3.

The El Paso Holocaust Museum and Study Center recently exhibited the work of artist Maria Jutasi Coleman (Ph.D. 1996). “A Child Survivor’s Legacy” featured a powerful, thought-provoking collection of her sculptures and tiles. Dr. Coleman, a Holocaust survivor born in Budapest, Hungary, immigrated to the United States in 1962.

Randy Danielsen (Ph.D. 2003) earned the prestigious Patron of the Profession award from the University of Utah Physician Assistant Studies program. Dr. Danielsen was honored for his outstanding dedication and service to the physician assistant profession. He currently serves as dean and professor emeritus at A.T. Still University's Arizona School of Health Sciences.

Winifred Hamilton (Ph.D. 1995) was recently named superintendent of Stamford, Connecticut Public Schools. Dr. Hamilton has worked in the Stamford Public School district for over four decades, serving as a physical education teacher, middle school assistant principal, principal, assistant superintendent, and deputy superintendent. She has also served as an adjunct professor at Sacred Heart University and the University of Connecticut.

  

Dr. Gary Helmer (Ph.D. 2008) recently began his new position with the National Transportation Safety Board, serving as Chief of the Safety Division. Ensuring safe working conditions is Dr. Helmer’s specialty. He previously served as Safety and Occupational Health Director for the U.S. Forest Service and as Safety and as Occupational Health Director for the U.S. Army.

On May 5, 2012 Amy Millios (B.A. 2002, Liberal Studies) was awarded the Gown Award from Colby-Sawyer College for her extraordinary efforts to raise awareness of issues critical to woman. Amy is a technology specialist in information resources at Colby-Sawyer College and serves as a member of the New Hampshire Women’s Caucus Steering Committee. Her experience includes direct care in developmental services, residential drug addiction treatment for women, and community mental health programs. Amy has also served as a coordinator for children with chronic health conditions in foster care for the State of New Hampshire. 

Recent graduate Steven Morgan (Ph.D. 2012) celebrated the North American premiere of his musical composition In Pace: A Requiem of Peace. On November 3, 2012 the Augustana Lutheran Church in Denver, Colorado hosted a concert in honor of All Saints Sunday in which Chancel Choir and members of Musica Sacra Chamber Orchestra performed Dr. Morgan’s requiem. Dr. Morgan is a composer and professor at Rikkyo University in Tokyo, Japan. His new a Cruz County and has completed her first year of law school at the Monterrey College of Law. And, she’s a surfer, looking forward to the waves in Morro Bay! Her new position begins in November.Hishhwork was inspired by texts from the Book of Common Prayer, the New Testament, and the poetry of Rabindranath Tagore, Thich Nhat Hanh, Black Elk, and John Henry Newman.

Union alumnus, Professor Emeritus of Union’s Ph.D. program, Director of Caring to Change and Huffington Post blogger Mark Rosenman (Ph.D. 1977) was quoted in “Getting Back More Than a Warm Feeling” in the November 8, 2012 edition of The New York Times. Read the article about philanthropy and social impact bonds here: http://nyti.ms/Tjnyde. In August, Dr. Rosenman was interviewed on “The Attitude with Arnie Arnesen” WNHN 94.7 FM in Concord, New Hampshire. Hear Dr. Rosenman’s discussion about the presidential race and non-profit issues here: http://bit.ly/QlZNVd.

Neal Sarahan (Ph.D. 2001) was recently named executive director of the Monarch Institute for Neurological Differences in Houston, Texas. Dr. Sarahan’s specialty is designing educational programs for children who have difficulty in traditional school settings. He has served as a faculty member of Antioch University, an early childhood teacher, playground designer and special education instructor. Dr. Sarahan currently serves on the executive board of the Houston affiliate of the National Alliance on Mental Illness and he volunteers at the Houston chapter of Heifer International.